The State Prosecution has submitted a petition to the Supreme Court that leaders of the Jewish Judea/Samaria settlement enterprise fear will cause the loss of many hundreds of acres of Jewish land.
The petition, which was submitted in 2008, was heard shortly before the Passover holiday. Arutz-7 has learned that a high-level government meeting is to be held on the matter tomorrow (Wednesday).
The petition was filed in the name of the Military Commander in Yesha (Judea and Samaria) against a decision by the Military Appeals Committee, which granted Jewish ownership to land based on the fact that Jews had worked and maintained it for ten years. The decision, regarding land near Nebi Samuel (north of Jerusalem) and in Samaria, was made in accordance with Ottoman Period law that has long applied to Judea and Samaria. However, the Prosecution now wishes to nullify this arrangement.
Even more gravely, says a civil rights expert from Hevron, "the Prosecution aims not only to cancel the registration of the land in the names of the Jews who have worked it, but also to throw them off the land altogether!"
In addition, if the petition is accepted, it would be applied only to Jews. The discriminatory decision would thus cause the retroactive loss of hundreds of acres, or more, of Jewish agricultural land throughout Judea and Samaria.
Anti-Israel Language
In addition, the language of the petition appears to have been written by radical opponents of the State of Israel, say those who have read it. Israel is repeatedly referred to as the "occupying power," and the petition cites decisions by The Hague which support legal interpretations limiting Israel's rights in Judea and Samaria.
This, despite the fact that Judea and Samaria have not been under the legal sovereignty of any nation since 1948 when the British Mandate was allowed to expire.
Leading Yesha figures fear that the Supreme Court will jump at the opportunity to issue a ruling that would harm Jewish interests in Judea and Samaria, and call upon the government to order the withdrawal of the petition. "With this suit," one leading Yesha personality said, "the State Prosecution is actually bypassing, of its own volition, the government echelons, and is allowing the Supreme Court a jump-start that will cause grave harm to the settlement enterprise."
Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria, said, "This is a fundamental test for the political echelon to decide who is really running this country, who sets its policies, and who makes its laws - the elected officials, or agenda-driven academics in the Justice Ministry. The government must instruct the Prosecution to withdraw this petition immediately, and to restore to itself the reins of policy and legislation - or else it will rock even further its ability to govern."